"Then Yudhishthira, the son of Pandu, said to the Brahmana, Markandeya,
'Do thou now narrate the history of Vaivaswata Manu.'
"Markandeya replied, 'O king, O foremost of men, there was a powerful
and great _Rishi_ of the name of Manu. He was the son of Vivaswan and
was equal unto _Brahma_ in glory. And he far excelled his father and
grandfather in strength, in power, in fortune, as also in religious
austerities. And standing on one leg and with uplifted hand, that lord
of men did severe penance in the jujube forest called Visala. And there
with head downwards and with steadfast eyes he practised the rigid and
severe penance for ten thousand years. And one day, whilst he was
practising austerities there with wet clothes on and matted hair on
head, a fish approaching the banks of the Chirini, addressed him thus,
"Worshipful sir, I am a helpless little fish, I am afraid of the large
ones; therefore, do thou, O great devotee, think it worth thy while to
protect me from them; especially as this fixed custom is well
established amongst us that the strong fish always preys upon the weak
ones. Therefore do thou think it fit to save me from being drowned in
this sea of terrors! I shall requite thee for thy good offices." On
hearing these words from the fish, Vaivaswata Manu was overpowered with
pity and he took out the fish from the water with his own hands. And the
fish which had a body glistening like the rays of the moon when taken
out of the water was put back in an earthen water-vessel. And thus
reared that fish O king, grew up in size and Manu tended it carefully
like a child. And after a long while, it became so large in size, that
there was no room for it in that vessel. And then seeing Manu (one day),
it again addressed these words to him, "Worshipful sir, do thou appoint
some better habitation for me." And then the adorable Manu, the
conqueror of hostile cities, took it out of that vessel and carried it
to a large tank and placed it there. And there again the fish grew for
many a long year. And although the tank was two _yojanas_ in length and
one _yojana_ in width, even there, O lotus-eyed son of Kunti and ruler
of men, was no room for the fish to play about! And beholding Manu it
said again, "O pious and adorable father, take me to the Ganga, the
favourite spouse of the Ocean so that I may live there; or do as thou
listest. O sinless one, as I have grown to this great bulk by thy favour
I shall do thy bidding cheerfully." Thus asked the upright and continent
and worshipful Manu took the fish to the river Ganga and he put it into
the river with his own hands. And there, O conqueror of thy enemies, the
fish again grew for some little time and then beholding Manu, it said
again, "O lord, I am unable to move about in the Ganga on account of my
great body; therefore, worshipful sir, do thou please take me quickly to
the sea!" O son of Pritha, Manu then taking it out of the Ganga, carried
it to the sea and consigned it there. And despite its great bulk, Manu
transported it easily and its touch and smell were also pleasant to him.
And when it was thrown into the sea by Manu, it said these words to him
with a smile, "O adorable being, thou hast protected me with special
care; do thou now listen to me as to what thou shouldst do in the
fulness of time! O fortunate and worshipful sir, the dissolution of all
this mobile and immobile world is nigh at hand. The time for the purging
of this world is now ripe. Therefore do I now explain what is good for
thee! The mobile and immobile divisions of the creation, those that have
the power of locomotion, and those that have it not, of all these the
terrible doom hath now approached. Thou shall build a strong massive ark
and have it furnished with a long rope. On that must thou ascend, O
great _Muni_, with the seven _Rishis_ and take with thee all the
different seeds which were enumerated by regenerate Brahmanas in days of
yore, and separately and carefully must thou preserve them therein. And
whilst there, O beloved of the _Munis_, thou shall wait for me, and I
shall appear to thee like a horned animal, and thus, O ascetic, shall
thou recognise me! And I shall now depart, and thou shall act according
to my instructions, for, without my assistance, thou canst not save
thyself from that fearful flood." Then Manu said unto the fish, "I do
not doubt all that thou hast said, O great one! Even so shall I act!"
And giving instructions to each other, they both went away. And Manu
then, O great and powerful king and conqueror of thy enemies, procured
all the different seeds as directed by the fish, and set sail in an
excellent vessel on the surging sea. And then, O lord of the earth, he
bethought himself of that fish. And the fish too, O conqueror of thy
enemies and foremost scion of Bharata's race, knowing his mind, appeared
there with horns on his head. And then, O tiger among men, beholding in
the ocean that horned fish emerging like a rock in the form of which he
had been before appraised, he lowered the ropy noose on its head. And
fastened by the noose, the fish, O king and conqueror of hostile cities,
towed the ark with great force through the salt waters. And it conveyed
them in that vessel on the roaring and billow beaten sea. And, O
conqueror of thy enemies and hostile cities, tossed by the tempest on
the great ocean, the vessel reeled about like a drunken harlot. And
neither land nor the four cardinal points of the compass, could be
distinguished. And there was water every where and the waters covered
the heaven and the firmament also. And, O bull of Bharata's race, when
the world was thus flooded, none but Manu, the seven _Rishis_ and the
fish could be seen. And, O king, the fish diligently dragged the boat
through the flood for many a long year and then, O descendant of Kuru
and ornament of Bharata's race, it towed the vessel towards the highest
peak of the Himavat. And, O Bharata, the fish then told those on the
vessel to tie it to the peak of the Himavat. And hearing the words of
the fish they immediately tied the boat on that peak of the mountain
and, O son of Kunti and ornament of Bharata's race, know that that high
peak of the Himavat is still called by the name of _Naubandhana_ (the
harbour). Then the fish addressing the associated _Rishis_ told them
these words, "I am Brahma, the Lord of all creatures; there is none
greater than myself. Assuming the shape of a fish, I have saved you from
this cataclysm. Manu will create (again) all beings--gods, _Asuras_ and
men, all those divisions of creation which have the power of locomotion
and which have it not. By practicing severe austerities he will acquire
this power, and with my blessing, illusion will have no power over him."
"'So saying the fish vanished instantly. And Vaivaswata Manu himself
became desirous of creating the world. In this work of creation illusion
overtook him and he, therefore, practised great asceticism. And endowed
with ascetic merit, Manu, O ornament of Bharata's race, again set about
his work of creating all beings in proper and exact order. This story
which I have narrated to thee and the hearing of which destroyeth all
sin, is celebrated as the Legend of the Fish. And the man who listeneth
every day to this primeval history of Manu, attaineth happiness and all
other objects of desire and goeth to heaven.'"